Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire
by Kristin Cashore
Release Date: October 5, 2009

From the author's website:

Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells.

Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Wondering what makes it a companion book/prequel? Fire takes place 30-some years before Graceling and has one cross-over character with Graceling, a small boy with strange two-colored eyes who comes from no-one-knows-where, and who has a peculiar ability that Graceling readers will find familiar and disturbing...


I wasn't sure if this was possible, but I loved this one more than I loved Graceling. The character Fire just took my breath away. She is half-monster, but makes up for it with her overly human feelings, emotions and most of all her empathy towards others. There's wondrous characters, beautiful settings, and tons of action to keep the plot moving. And, of course, romance.

I don't want to ruin anything, so I'm keeping this short. If you loved Graceling, I expect you'll enjoy this book as much, if not more.

I'm really excited now to see what Kristin holds in store for us in her third book, which focuses on the character Bitterblue.

5/5 Roses